Busytown by Jolisa Gracewood

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Busytown: Cry me a river

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  • Tim Welch,

    Those pictures of Cheonggyecheon are amazing. What a good idea doing the same to Queen St... It is rather soul-less at present.

    Auckland • Since Aug 2008 • 47 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    When I lived in Auckland, I had a sea kayak and would tow it down to the local beach (Cheltenham) and head out to Rangitoto. And I'd paddle to visit friends in St Heliers. I really did see the city in terms of its waterways.
    I forget which writer described Auckland as 'There are ferries at the bottom of the garden' - I believe Auckland used to be quite a gracious city once upon a time, but that must have been a while ago.
    Thanks for a lovely post.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    That was A.R.D. Fairburn, the Devonport dweller! I believe the house in which he wrote that line is currently for sale. There are still ferries at the bottom of the garden, although a pretty crap ferry terminal.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • richard,

    I had momentary visions of a city where people commuted to work via a lazy river, but I guess the problem with that is that water only flows down hill. Perhaps you could accomplish the return journey via a system of locks?

    And the express lane would resemble a log flume ride.

    Would be a great way to get to work, as long as you didn't have to wear your best clothes...

    Not looking for New Engla… • Since Nov 2006 • 268 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    And you're right, Carol, it was a gracious city - or at least it felt like one. Not so long ago. When were you kayaking around the waterfront? It must completely change your perspective on a city to actually do it; it has changed mine merely to imagine it.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Would be a great way to get to work, as long as you didn't have to wear your best clothes...

    In the Distant Future, you'll be able to bowl up to work in your togs (undies, undies, togs) because clothes will be provided for you.

    That, or truly waterproof backpacks.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    It certainly is a crap ferry terminal - I preferred the old one which was refreshingly scuzzy and dilapidated and generally un-Devonport. The ferries are a great way to get around Auckland, for those who are lucky enough to live and work near ferry terminals.
    The North Shore has certainly harboured its share of writers over the years .. I've always liked the thought of Janet Frame lurking in the hut in Frank Sargeson's garden. I wonder what she would have made of Auckland in 2009.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    Arrrgh... One of my soap box rants when I've had a few is my vast plan for a far, far cheaper public transport system based on the Waitemata and Manakau harbours... If we built the canal along PORTAGE ROAD and through the CANAL RESERVE then you could in theory travel from Hatfield's Beach all the way to Papkura (via the airport!) in a ferry. Look at a map! With a bit of dredging, where wouldn't be within range of a scenic and convenient Vaporetto?

    lets face, building a wharf and using the free road nature has provided with the sea is way way cheaper per mile than the squillions road cost to build in Auckland...

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    It was a while ago now that I lived in Auckland with a kayak and enough leisure time to enjoy it - around 1990-92. It was great fun to ride the tides around - I discovered that on a rising tide you could paddle almost all the way to Albany!
    I can also report that from a sea kayak you get quite a different perspective on the ferry fleet! Crossing a channel you feel a bit like a possum crossing the road.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    I have fond memories of that old terminal too - it did everything you need a terminal to do - and riding the old wooden ferry back and forth all afternoon without getting off.

    Tom, between your drunken rants and my burbling blogs, we can totally make it happen. Vaporetti, yes! And gondolas for those who are not in a hurry. Maybe Giovanni can hook us up?

    (Q: will the Green wing of the party clip our wings for disturbing the waterfowl?)

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    That was A.R.D. Fairburn, the Devonport dweller! I believe the house in which he wrote that line is currently for sale. There are still ferries at the bottom of the garden, although a pretty crap ferry terminal.

    This is the house in question, on the corner of Mays St and King Edward Parade. My mum used to visit her Fairburn cousins there during the school holidays and says back then it was a rambling bohemian abode, full of all sorts of cool stuff.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Yeah pedestrians get a real bum steer here - partly I think it's our reliance on give way signs to do what in the US they would use a stop sign for.

    In California there are pedestrian crossings everywhere - and i mean EVERYWHERE - even if they're not marked in there's a legal pedestrian crossing at EVERY intersection, in every direction - that's why people stop - because the law requires them to always yield to pedestrians at intersections - how civilised - the downside is that not using those spaces means pedestrians get ticketed for jaywalking

    Now if someone can show me how one can safely get off the Maori Hill bus stop's traffic island, past the roundabout without dieing - I'll loan you a wheel chair and you can try again

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    Water ferries are incredibly Green compared to buses or even trains, because they use the sea as a road and can use diesel-electric drive really efficiently as they don't have to stop and start like land vehicles, they just throttle up and slow down to and from the wharf.

    Heck, I even had a look at the weather patterns and the prevailing west south-west winds in New Zealand means you'd almost never suffer weather cancellations on the East Coast services.

    Gondolas around the city bays would rock!!

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    I’m optimistic, because the alternative is simply uncountenanceable, and I don’t even care whether that’s a real word or not. I refuse to countenance it, anyway.

    First thing my son (who had just turned seven) said after we parted with my mother last year: "I hope to see her again." I had to give him a big squeeze.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Oh, Gio, the heartbreak. You know it, too. All you can do is squeeze 'em, eh.

    Now, about those gondolas...

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Bingo, Robyn. And here are the details for prospective purchasers.

    My mum used to visit her Fairburn cousins there during the school holidays and says back then it was a rambling bohemian abode, full of all sorts of cool stuff.

    Damn, I bet it was. What a great place to be able to visit.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    More pics for the property pervs among us.

    By which I mean, me.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    More pics for the property pervs among us.

    I spend a lot of time, as a property perv, mentally asking 'what possessed you people when you bought that lounge suite?'

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • Daniel,

    I think a rehabilitated Waihorotiu would be excellent, winding out across Queens Wharf, terminating in a little wetland.

    But on a broader scale, I have been thinking for some time that what we need is some kind of forum where ideas like this can be put forth and aggregated - examples of how other cities have dealt with similar issues as Auckland has. I'm off to Vancouver soon, have friends who have recently moved to places like Melbourne, and was down in Wellington a few weeks ago, and was thinking about how the approaches taken in those places could be applied to Auckland.

    That said, I don't know for certain that such a place doesn't already exist - Joel Cayford is doing some interesting stuff (I especially liked the pictures of Wellington on his blog) - and I'm actually a bio student, so this sort of stuff isn't really my forté.

    Melbourne • Since Jul 2009 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    More pics for the property pervs among us.

    Interesting that the real estate blurb doesn't mention the literary connection but instead waxes lyrical about the indoor outdoor flow, six car garaging and spacious decks on which to sip one's G&T. Philistines!

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Now, about those gondolas...

    I'm the last person you want to speak to about that, sorry. Milan used to be criss-crossed by rivers and canals, but they were all paved over save for a few that we don't seem to be planning to open to boats of any kind anyhow.

    My father lived and then worked in the same street all his life, and it was crossed in the middle by one of these canals, which was covered when he was still a wee nipper. Yet whenever he gave somebody directions he would tell them to, say, "turn left at the bridge", which for people of his generation still meant a certain traffic light halfway up the road, but puzzled everybody else.

    Then again, he did enjoy confusing people.

    Now that there is no longer any industry in Milan the aquifer and the rivers are all swelling, so the decision to get rid of a few of those roads might be made for us at some stage in the not so distant future. Urban redesign by way of cataclysm is really the only form of progress that Italy can hope for at present.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    It's interesting that a rather itinerant sort like Fairburn could have afforded that house back then, but now it would only be within reach of someone who makes money from money.

    It certainly wouldn't be available to a poet.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Or a blogger. Well, most bloggers.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Urban redesign by way of cataclysm is really the only form of progress that Italy can hope for at present.

    Nice! I have to say, it feels a bit that way in Aotearoa, too...

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    It's interesting that a rather itinerant sort like Fairburn could have afforded that house back then, but now it would only be within reach of someone who makes money from money.

    Apparently the opening of the harbour bridge in 1959 had a major effect on real estate values on the North Shore - it used to be a sleepy bachy kind of place before that. Although the Fairburn house was clearly never a bach ..

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

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